An Open Letter to Gayle King and Katy Perry

30 Apr, 2025

An Open Letter to Gayle King and Katy Perry

🚀 The Vanity of Escape Velocity

I’m writing this on the monumentally off-chance that it makes its way in front of you—or at least your defenders. I want to explain why you're facing the backlash you are. And yes, it’s deserved. That’s not to say you deserve death threats or misogynistic vitriol—no one does. But valid criticism? You’ve earned that in full.

🛰️ Not Groundbreaking, Just Grandstanding

Let’s start with Ms. Perry. This first point applies to Gayle King as well: the framing of your Blue Origin joyride as some kind of triumph for women is not only ignorant—it’s deeply offensive. Starting with Valentina Tereshkova in 1963, women have been in space for over six decades. There have been 104 female astronauts globally. Some, like Judith Resnik and Christa McAuliffe, gave their lives in the pursuit of real scientific progress. So no, Gayle and Katy, you are not breaking ground. Women have been kicking ass in orbit since before you were born.

🎭 Championing Women—But Only When It's Convenient?

And while we’re on the subject of “empowering women”—which is a valid and necessary cause—it would be funny if it weren’t so goddamn brazen that Ms. Perry touts herself as a champion of women while continuing to work with Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald, a.k.a. Dr. Luke, a man accused of sexual assault by multiple women. But yes, Katy—tell us more about how much you care about women. That’s rich.

🌎 Gayle, Please. That’s Not How the Planet Works.

Now to Ms. King. You said, “Because you do something in space doesn’t mean you are taking anything away from Earth!”

Umm. It literally does.

Blue Origin claims their spaceflights have "zero carbon emissions"—which, even if we suspend disbelief and pretend a soulless corporation is telling the whole truth, still ignores the reality that water vapor released at high altitudes contributes to global warming and ozone depletion.

Let’s not forget the money. The financial waste is staggering.

Then there’s your gushing praise: “What Blue Origin wants to do is take the waste here and figure out a way to put it in space to make our planet cleaner! Jeff Bezos has so many ideas! The people working there are so devoted!”

Yes, Ms. King, you're right—waste is a crisis. But the answer isn’t to blast our garbage into the cosmos like we’re toddlers shoving messes under the bed. The answer is to fix the systems down here, invest in biodegradable alternatives, and hold corporations accountable for the destruction they profit from. But sure, let’s keep pretending that space trash is the solution.

Then, you claim, “There was nothing frivolous about what we did!” before launching into some Trumpian “People are saying!” rant about women showering you with praise. Honestly? It’s nauseating how completely out of touch this whole thing is.

✈️ Status, Not Science

Ms. King, Ms. Perry—it was frivolous. Your little skyward selfie stunt was vanity at escape velocity. It reeked of status, not science.

Meanwhile, down here on Earth, the rest of us are just trying to survive.

In the U.S. alone, 36.8 million people live in poverty. Globally, 700 million people live on less than $1.90 a day. 3.5 billion people—nearly half the planet—survive on under $6.85/day. Over a billion of them are children.

Back home, nearly 50% of Americans have less than $500 in savings. 36% have $100 or less. 27% have no emergency savings at all. Only 41% could cover a $1,000 emergency—while the rest would have to borrow, beg, or default.

So how dare you lecture us from your altitudes of opulence and detachment?

We are robbing Peter to pay Paul, watching our grocery bills triple, struggling to cover rent that’s overdue—and you’re out here expecting applause for a billionaire-backed space joyride?

My sincere apologies if we’re not genuflecting enough for you. But worship is hard to muster when the rent’s overdue and the fridge is empty.

🧠 Do Better. Or Don’t Speak At All.

So instead of whining from your ivory towers—“Oh, why are the plebs being so mean? You’re all unhinged and unhealed!"—how about you pull your heads out of your asses?

Take a breath. Do some actual soul-searching. Because you didn’t do science. You didn’t move the needle on women’s rights. You didn’t solve climate change.

You were pawns in a billionaire’s PR stunt to salvage his public image—and you were dumb enough to pay for the privilege.

#2025